Status check of 12 new AIIMS announced by PM Modi’s government

The program under which the AIIMS projects are being brought is the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. We take a look at the status of all these projects according to information available with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses during a rally organized for laying the foundation stone of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Bathinda on 11.25.2016. (PTI photo)

The Narendra Modi-led NDA government has announced as many as 12 new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) institutions since 2014. In the budget speech of 2014-15, four new AIIMS were announced as part of phase 4 of AIIMS institutions. The institutions will come up in Mangalagiri, Nagpur, Gorakhpur and Kalyani. Six new AIIMS were announced the next year – one each to come up in Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir. In 2017-18, the government announced two new AIIMS – one each in Gujarat and Jharkhand.

These institutions will be built under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. We take a look at the status of all these projects according to information available with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

AIIMS Mangalagiri: The Union Cabinet’s approval for setting up the institute in Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh was given on October 7, 2015. The approved cost of the project was Rs 1,618 crore. At present, the boundary wall is being constructed and the masterplan has been finalised. The appointment of an agency for designing the project and executing the construction has been completed.

AIIMS Nagpur: Cabinet approval for setting up AIIMS in Nagpur, Maharashtra was given on October 7, 2015 with an approved cost of Rs 1,577 crore. Masterplan has been finalised for the AIIMS and boundary wall is nearing completion.

AIIMS Gorakhpur: The Cabinet approval for setting up AIIMS in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, also the home constituency of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, was given on October 20, 2016. The project was approved at a cost of Rs 1,011 crore. The government has finalised the site for construction and appointed the executing agency for “pre-investment activities”. The agency for soil survey and topographical analysis has also been appointed. The tender for construction of boundary is yet to be awarded and the executing agency for the AIIMS project has been finalised. The task of land transfer from state to the Central Ministry has been completed.

AIIMS Kalyani: Cabinet approved the project on October 7, 2015. The masterplan for the project has been finalised and construction of boundary wall is under progress.

AIIMS Assam: The site was finalised in village Jalah, Mouza Sila Sinduri Ghopa in Kamrup district. The approval for the project was give on May 24, 2015 with an approved cost of Rs 1,123 crore. Currently, the project has appointed an executing agency for pre-investment activities. The project has also run into hurdles over environmental red flags. The National Green Tribunal in Kolkata had told the Chief Secretary of the Government of Assam to direct project authorities to halt progress on any physical work at the AIIMS site. In the last interim order of the NGT, the green panel modified the order and said any activity undertaken in the disputed area shall be subject to the final outcome of the case.

AIIMS Bihar: The project was proposed in the 2015-16 Union Budget. The Central government wrote to the Chief Minister of Bihar asking the state government to identify 3-4 alternate locations of around 200 acres along with other requisite infrastructure. The state government received reminders from the government on December 10, 2015, May 6, 2016, December 8, 2016 and on April 12, 2017. However, Bihar government is yet to provide options for suitable sites.

AIIMS Jammu and Kashmir: In a bumper package announced by the Centre to Jammu and Kashmir on November 7, 2015, the Centre proposed setting up of two AIIMS–one each in the state’s capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar. The site for Jammu region was finalised at Vijaypur in Samba district and for the Kashmir division, the site was finalised at Awantipora in Pulwama district. CPWD is the executing agency for the construction of the two new AIIMS in the state. The pre-investment activities at the project sites are underway and Draft EFC Memos have been created to secure funds of Rs 1,630 crore and Rs 1,810 crore for the AIIMS in Jammu and Srinagar, respectively. The project division of the health ministry is currency framing replies to the EFC received from the Department of Expenditure.

AIIMS Punjab: The project was approved at a cost of Rs 925 crore and was supposed to come up in Bathinda. The approval by the Cabinet was given on July 7, 2016. The foundation stone for the project was laid on November 25, 2016. Soil and topographical survey has been completed and the project’s boundary wall is being constructed.

AIIMS Tamil Nadu: The central team which inspected the site submitted its report to the Central Ministry on May 8, 2015. Recently, a new criteria under Challenge Method was formulated for selection of the site for the new AIIMS. The selection change was brought by a committee of Secretaries. This group included Secretaries of Cabinet Secretariat (coordination), Higher Education, Health and Family Welfare, Economic Affairs, Urban Development, CEO of NITI Aayog.

The committee has asked the state government to assess prospective sites and identify suitable sites on the basis of the new challenge method-based criteria. The progress of the project is still at the Centre-state correspondence stage and no construction work has begun.

AIIMS Gujarat: The project was announced in the budget speech for 2017-18. The executing agency has been finalised by the Centre and the state has been asked to identify 3-4 suitable sites for the new AIIMS.

AIIMS Jharkhand: The AIIMS in Jharkhand was announced in this year’s budget speech. The required commitments from the state government have been conveyed to the Centre and the site has been identified by the state and approved by the Centre at Deogarh. The executing agency has also been finalised.